Michelle Obama plants the White House kitchen garden, since expanded to include a compost pile and apiary. Five years later, the National Gardening Association reports a 17-percent increase in home and community gardens.
The First Lady launches “Let’s Move!,” a campaign to tackle growing rates of childhood obesity. It enlists celebrities including Beyoncé, who adapts her song “Get Me Bodied” for a video showcasing an exercise-dance routine.
President Obama signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, raising nutrition standards in the National School Lunch Program. The School Nutrition Association and some Republican lawmakers oppose the standards. The act is up for reauthorization in 2015.
Mrs. Obama convenes a summit on marketing food to children, which calls on the industry to cut ads for unhealthy foods. In October, Sesame Street says it will allow free use of its characters in ads promoting fruits and vegetables.
The Food and Drug Administration proposes revoking the “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, status of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of artery-clogging trans fats. Food manufacturers are still fighting the rule, saying few alternatives exist.
February 2014
The FDA proposes revamping its well-known Nutrition Facts label after the White House pushes the agency to finish a decade-long effort. The food industry continues to resist the changes, and a final rule has not been issued.
Under rules mandated by Obamacare, the FDA re-quires restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts on menus. Grocery and major pizza chains are fighting back with the help of Congress.
This article appears in our June 2015 issue of Washingtonian.
How Michelle Obama Has Shaped Nutrition Politics
March 2009
Michelle Obama plants the White House kitchen garden, since expanded to include a compost pile and apiary. Five years later, the National Gardening Association reports a 17-percent increase in home and community gardens.
February 2010
The First Lady launches “Let’s Move!,” a campaign to tackle growing rates of childhood obesity. It enlists celebrities including Beyoncé, who adapts her song “Get Me Bodied” for a video showcasing an exercise-dance routine.
December 2010
President Obama signs the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, raising nutrition standards in the National School Lunch Program. The School Nutrition Association and some Republican lawmakers oppose the standards. The act is up for reauthorization in 2015.
September 2013
Mrs. Obama convenes a summit on marketing food to children, which calls on the industry to cut ads for unhealthy foods. In October, Sesame Street says it will allow free use of its characters in ads promoting fruits and vegetables.
November 2013
The Food and Drug Administration proposes revoking the “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, status of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of artery-clogging trans fats. Food manufacturers are still fighting the rule, saying few alternatives exist.
February 2014
The FDA proposes revamping its well-known Nutrition Facts label after the White House pushes the agency to finish a decade-long effort. The food industry continues to resist the changes, and a final rule has not been issued.
November 2014
Under rules mandated by Obamacare, the FDA re-quires restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie counts on menus. Grocery and major pizza chains are fighting back with the help of Congress.
This article appears in our June 2015 issue of Washingtonian.
Editors' Picks
Check Out the Inspiring Personal Style (And Killer Outfits) of Nine of the Most Fashionable People in DC Right Now
Would Amazon’s HQ2 Really Be Good for Washington?
8 Day Trips to Do Every Weekend This Fall
The Man Who Sued His Trolls
Most Popular
Hoagie Chain Taylor Gourmet Will Close All of Its Stores
Who Says You Can’t Wear a Blue Wedding Dress?
7 Hikes Near DC Where You Can See Amazing Fall Foliage
Kavanaugh’s Character Witness Once Wrote About His Family for Washingtonian. Check Out What His Brother Wrote in to Rebut Him.
The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington
September 2018: Style Setters
Related
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
Michelle Obama’s Carpool Karaoke Will Give You Life
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
More from News
Look at the Passages Brett Kavanaugh Underlined in the 25th Amendment
The Smithsonian Robot Pepper Can Create Music from Visual Art. Now You Can Hear the Creepy Sample Tracks.
Washingtonian Today: Welcome to Fall
Who Even Is Edward Whelan, the Author of That Ridiculous Conspiracy Theory?